The academic study of religion recently has turned to the investigation of emotion as a crucial aspect of religious life. Researchers have set out in several directions to explore that new terrain and have brought with them an assortment of instruments useful in charting it. This volume collects essays under four categories: religious traditions, religious life, emotional states, and historical and theoretical perspectives. In this book, scholars engaged in cutting edge research on religion and emotion describe the ways in which emotions have played a role in Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and other religions. They analyze the manner in which key components of religious life -- ritual, music, gender, sexuality and material culture -- represent and shape emotional performance. Some of the essays included here take a specific emotion, such as love or hatred, and observe the place of that emotion in an assortment of religious traditions and cultural settings. Other essays analyze the thinking of figures such as St. Augustine, Soren Kierkegaard, Jonathan Edwards, Emile Durkheim, and William James. This collection offers a range of critical perspectives on the academic study of religion and emotion, in the form of syntheses, provocations, and prospective observations, that will inform the work of those already engaged in the field. Taken together, the writings included in this handbook serve as an ideal entry point for anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with the new academic study of religion and emotion.

Part 1: Religious Traditions1. Buddhism, Maria Heim2. Islam, Anna Gade3. Hinduism, June McDaniel4. Japanese Religion, Gary Ebersole5. Judaism, Joel Gereboff6. Christianity, Andrew Tallon7. New Religious Movements, Doug CowanPart 2: Religious Life8. Ritual, Pamela Klassen9. Sexuality, Jeffrey Kripal10. Gender, Melissa Raphael11. Music, Frank Burch Brown12. Material Culture, John KieschnickPart 3: Emotional States13. Ecstasy, Helene Basu and Angelika Malinar14. Terror, Harvey Whitehouse15. Hope, W. Watts Miller16. Melancholy, Julius Rubin17. Love, Nancy Martin and Joseph Runzo18. Hatred, John CorriganPart 4: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives19. Augustine, James Wetzel20. Medieval Mysticism, Niklaus Largier21. Kierkegaard, David Kangas22. Jonathan Edwards, Michael McClymond23. William James, Jeremy Carrette24. Durkheim, W.S.F. Pickering25. Schleirmacher and Otto, Jacqueline Mari?a26. Constructivism and its Critics, John Kloos27. Emotions Research and Religious Experience, Robert Roberts